U.N. Palestinian refugee agency decries Swiss move to cut funding

The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has denounced Switzerland’s decision to reduce aid to the Gaza Strip, which is currently going through a humanitarian catastrophe that the UN has described as apocalyptic.

A day after expressing his dissatisfaction with the Swiss plan, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, highlighted his displeasure with the agency’s “chronic underfunding” on Wednesday at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva.

“Despite our successes, UNRWA suffers from chronic underfunding which impacts the quality of our services,” stated the president.

Although he did not mention Switzerland’s actions, he stated, “Upholding refugees’ rights is not only the responsibility of humanitarian and development actors but also a responsibility… shared with donors and host countries.”

With 116 votes in favor and 78 votes against, the National Council of Switzerland, the lower house of the Federal Assembly, voted on Monday to reduce the yearly contribution to the agency to 20 million Swiss francs, equivalent to 22.83 million dollars. The creator of the idea, who was a member of a legislative team that traveled to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) earlier this year, has stated that the organization is not objective.

An evaluation of the idea is going to take place on Thursday in the upper house. For the idea to be implemented, it must get approval from both chambers.

“As a country that leads on international humanitarian law, I am disappointed in this decision to cut aid to the largest and most active humanitarian agency on the ground in Gaza today,” Lazzarini wrote on the website X on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, Lazzarini expressed his belief that there was a purposeful attempt to suffocate the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s (UNRWA) activities. He also stated that the agency’s ability to carry out its duties in the Palestinian enclave was on the edge of collapsing.

Others inside the United Nations condemned the Swiss action. UNRWA’s High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, expressed his hope that Switzerland and other nations will continue to provide financial support to the organization.

Grandi claims that if UNRWA ceases to exist and receives no funding, the Palestinians, who have already suffered so tragically from history, will suffer even more.

Eighty-five percent of Gaza’s population has been relocated within the territory as a result of Israeli bombardment as a reaction to the fatal attack on Israel that Hamas terrorists carried out on October 7. As of October 7, more than 130 members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) have been slain.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was established in 1949 after the first Arab-Israeli conflict. Its mission is to offer primary healthcare, education, and humanitarian relief services in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.